The partially restored headstone for Thomas C. Potter, who traveled west from Rhode Island, shows that he died on July 21, 1871, at age 25. The inscription reads, "He has gone from the earth, With its pain and care: He is safe in a realm That is bright and fair."

The headstone for Benjamin Taylor, who died in 1873. Taylor helped drive a wagon train for pioneers who settled in Northern California's Green Valley in 1850. His headstone has been pieced together after being found under a foot of dirt. Caretaker Tony Pires says he hopes to find the missing piece.

Seismologist Jack Boatwright checks his notes from 2006, when he determined that two-thirds of Gilliam's headstones had very likely been shattered during the 1906 earthquake. Back then, he didn't know that Tony Pires had been resurrecting buried headstones at the cemetery.

Some of the oldest headstones at the Gilliam Cemetery were broken and buried by two factors: the 1906 earthquake that also hit nearby San Francisco, and plant and animal life that mounded dirt over broken stones.

Cindy Carpien
/ NPR

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Originally published on July 31, 2012 5:55 am

The Gilliam Cemetery, which lies 60 miles north of San Francisco, appears to be gaining residents lately. But it's not only because new people have been interred there. Instead, headstones that wound up being buried a century ago have been found and resurrected.

The cemetery's story begins in 1850, when a wagon train of pioneers left Missouri and settled near what is now Sebastopol, Calif. The Gilliam Cemetery was started in 1852, when Polly Gilliam Sullivan and her husband, Isaac, needed a place to bury their stillborn son.

Many of the town's pioneers rested peacefully in the cemetery until the morning of April 18, 1906. That's when the San Andreas Fault ruptured offshore from San Francisco, picking up speed as it traveled north.

An Analysis, 100 Years Later

U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Jack Boatwright first visited the graveyard in 2006, for the earthquake's centennial. The trip was part of his attempt to create the first digital "ShakeMap" of the quake. He confirmed that some of the strongest shaking happened in this part of Northern California.

And the evidence is still visible in old graveyards like Gilliam, where Boatwright found 3-foot marble headstones that had been broken in the 1906 quake — including one for pioneer Elizabeth Crowe, who died in 1889. Her grave marker looks as though it was shattered into five pieces.

At the time of his research, Boatwright noted that the quake had fractured as many as two-thirds of the gravestones in this cemetery — as NPR reported in 2006. But back then, Boatwright didn't know that some missing headstones were being found and repaired by caretaker Tony Pires.

More than a decade ago, Pires, 75, volunteered to mow the cemetery's lawn. And over the years, he found partially buried pieces of headstones as he crossed the turf. Eventually, he started trying to piece them together.

So Pires investigated further, using a skinny welding rod or poker to push gently into the ground. Sometimes he'd come upon a hard object, possibly a bottle or a can. "And sometimes," he says with a wide grin, "it's a stone. And that's when I get all excited." Often, the stone would be a long-lost part of a broken headstone.

Despite the powerful earthquake, the ground did not open up and swallow the headstones in 1906. A graveyard has a way of consuming all on its own. And it can actually be quite a lively place, as plant roots grow and birds peck for seeds — both activities loosen the dirt around broken stones.

And then, Pires says, there's the larger culprit. He points to clues all around the graveyard.

"Gopher holes and gopher trails," he says. "The stones fall into the dirt and [the pieces] get buried even more."

When Jack Boatwright was here in 2006, he never imagined the effect gophers would have on his research. "So, any stones Tony has unearthed," he says, "would increase the estimate of ground shaking that I had previously."

Descendants Of California Pioneers

So far, Pires has pieced together and reinstated close to 30 headstones, including those for the pioneer couple who started the cemetery, Isaac Sullivan and his wife, Polly Gilliam Sullivan.

They are the great-, great-, great-grandparents of Jean McNear Powers, who says she used to visit the Gilliam Cemetery with her grandmother. "I ran around and chased gophers," she recalls.

Powers believes about 40 of her relatives are buried in the cemetery. But until Pires started poking around, she didn't know where some of them were.

"It brings me peace and contentment and gratitude, because as I look at the stones, there were so many children," she says. "I have family members, like my daughter, who because of modern medicine are still alive today — and would have been one of those tiny headstones years ago."

Benjamin Taylor is another of Powers' ancestors. He drove the wagon train from Missouri and died in 1873.

"This stone was under a foot of dirt and it's missing one small triangle," Pires says. "I may never find it, but I keep looking, 'cause it's fun."

It's a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. But Pires says he knows he's likely to find something. According to records and family accounts, there are dozens more old markers and headstones missing in the Gilliam Cemetery — presumably buried and waiting to be exhumed and reassembled.

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This morning we continue our summer road trip, Dead Stop.

(SOUNDBITE OF THEME MUSIC)

MONTAGNE: We're visiting interesting cemeteries and resting places of the famous and not so famous. In one of the oldest cemeteries in California's Sonoma County, about 60 miles north of San Francisco, gravestones that vanished a century ago are reappearing.

NPR Producer Cindy Carpien went there to unravel the mystery.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS AND WIND)

CINDY CARPIEN, BYLINE: In 1850, pioneers, who left Missouri by wagon train, settled near what is now Sebastopol, California. And this graveyard on a hill, called the Gilliam Cemetery, was started when Polly Gilliam Sullivan and her husband Isaac, needed to bury their stillborn son.

TONY PIRES: This is the very first stone of the very first burial in 1852.

CARPIEN: Tony Pires is the volunteer caretaker of this cemetery where many of the town's pioneers rested peacefully, until the early morning of April 18th, 1906. That's when the San Andreas Fault ruptured offshore from San Francisco, picking up speed as it traveled north and into places like the Gilliam Cemetery.

JACK BOATWRIGHT: A remarkable amount of damage, particularly in the northeast section of ground, where the...

CARPIEN: USGS Seismologist Jack Boatwright reads notes from his first visit to this graveyard in 2006 for the earthquake's 100th anniversary. His assignment was to create the first digital shake map of the quake. He confirmed that some of the strongest shaking happened in this area of Northern California. And the evidence is still visible in old graveyards. That's where Boatwright found pre-1906, three foot marble headstones broken, like this one for pioneer Elizabeth Crowe.

BOATWRIGHT: It was knocked out and shattered into, it looks like, about five pieces.

CARPIEN: At the time, Boatwright noted that two thirds of the gravestones in this cemetery most likely fractured during the quake. We told this story on NPR in 2006. But back then, Boatwright was unaware that caretaker Tony Pires was finding headstones hidden to Boatwright.

PIRES: Jack, when you were here, this one was buried, that one was buried, these were...

CARPIEN: Seventy-five-year old Tony Pires volunteered at first, to mow the cemetery's lawn. Occasionally, he'd find partially buried pieces of headstones. So he investigated further with a skinny welding rod or a poker, gently pushing it into the ground.

CARPIEN: Now, the earthquake may have caused the head stones to topple, but the ground did not open up and swallow them in 1906. In fact, a graveyard has a way of consuming things all on its own. And it's quite lively. Growing plant roots and birds pecking for seeds loosen the dirt around broken stones. And then, Tony Pires says, there's a bigger culprit and the clues are all around us.

PIRES: Gopher holes and the gopher trails. That gopher loves to dig and the stones fall into the dirt.

(LAUGHTER)

PIRES: And they get buried even more.

CARPIEN: Now, Jack, let me ask you. Of course, you could not have factored in gopher effect when you were looking here?

(LAUGHTER)

BOATWRIGHT: No, I...

(LAUGHTER)

BOATWRIGHT: I was pretty ignorant of gophers when I went through these cemeteries. So any stones that Tony has unearthed would increase the estimate of ground shaking that I had previously.

CARPIEN: So far, Tony Pires has pieced together close to 30 headstones including two we're standing in front of now.

JEAN MCNEAR POWERS: They are my great-great-great-great grandparents.

CARPIEN: Jean McNear Powers smiles at the twin monuments for the pioneer couple who started this cemetery, Isaac Sullivan and his wife, Polly. Powers believes about 40 of her relatives are buried here. But until Tony Pires started poking around, she didn't know where some of them were.

POWERS: It brings me peace and contentment and gratitude, because, as I look at the stones, there were so many children. And I have family members, like my daughter, who because of modern medicine are still alive today and would have been one of those tiny head stones years ago.

CARPIEN: Tony Pires walks by another of Powers ancestors, Benjamin Taylor who died in 1873.

PIRES: He was the one that drove the wagon train. This stone was buried under about a foot of dirt. It's missing one small triangle. And I may never be able find it. I'll keep looking 'cause it's fun.

(LAUGHTER)

CARPIEN: And Tony Pires can keep as busy as he likes. According to records and family accounts, there are dozens more old markers and headstones missing, presumably buried in the Gilliam Cemetery.

Cindy Carpien, NPR News.

MONTAGNE: And there's a lovely slideshow of those old headstones at NPR.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.